Sir Caradoc Briefbras or
"Short-Arm" was a Knight
of the Round Table, best known
through the Livre de Caradoc, a series of stories which appears in
the first continuation of Chretien de Troyes' Perceval. He was
raised as the son of Caradoc the Elder, the King of Nantes; but his mother
had had an affair with a sorcerer named Eliavrés who was his real father.
Sir Caradoc found out the truth of his parentage at the Court of King
Arthur when, like Sir Gawain, he was
challenged to a beheading game by a mysterious stranger. Caradoc
chopped off his opponent's head, but the corpse replaced it and,
explaining that he was Caradoc's biological father, the game ended. Highly
humiliated, Caradoc took Eliavrés back to his own kingdom and hid him
away, imprisoned in a tower. In an attempt to escape, the wizard caused a
serpent to entwine itself around his son's arm. His best friend, Sir
Cador, and the latter's sister, Guignier, managed to pull the
creature off, but the attack caused Caradoc's arm to shrivel away and he
thus became known as "Briefbras".

Sir Caradoc later married Guignier,
but his mother's infidelity made him rather paranoid concerning her
faithfulness. She underwent a chastity test while the two were at Camelot,
wearing a magic cloak and drinking from magic horn. The lady passed with
flying colours and the couple were given the city of Cirencester as a
reward.

The historic original of this
character was a King of Gwent named Caradog
Freichfras or "Strong Arm". The literary man should not
be confused with other Arthurian knights of similar name, such as Sir
Carados, the King of Scotland or the evil Sir Caradoc of the
Dolorous Tower.